Well, before I get into that, I just want to share something with you...
I'm doing an honors thesis (perhaps you know that honors students at the college have the opportunity and are encouraged to write a thesis during their senior year), and the research for this opportunity began this week. Dr. Hopkins of the math department is teaching the research methods course, which will lead us into defining our topics and doing copious amounts of research thereafter. I am doing an education related thesis and I have chosen Dr. Ayala as my advisor (I'm sure many in my class know how amazing she is).
For about five minutes this semester, I thought about going to interior design school after SPC. Decorating both living and commercial space has always been a passion, but something I never really thought of as a career path (mainly because it's so competitive! And if you can't start out on top, why bother?). So, I started thinking of ways to combine my passion for design and education so I could write a thesis about it and open up new doors for myself. I am going to write about environmental psychology and design in the classroom. I haven't found anything super useful on the internet (scary because this thesis has to be 50 pages, exciting because I feel like a pioneer!!). But my preliminary Google searches led me to "environmental psychology" http://www-personal.umich.edu/~rdeyoung/envtpsych.html. And now I am really excited to research and write this paper.
I plan on giving you guys updates as that process moves along...
(back to the "interesting article")
Another topic I love to research is autism. It is such a buzzword in the medical and educational worlds, and it fascinates me. I found this cool article about literacy development in autistic students. Take some time to read it now, and I'll post later in the week with my thoughts--leave comments!
http://www.paulakluth.com/articles/litdevautism.html
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU GRADUATED HIGH SCHOOL ONE OF 37 STUDENTS???
Today in my Principles and Techniques of Teaching class, we were discussing our high school experiences. When I said that I went to a small, all girls private school and graduated one of only 37 girls, faces dropped. I loved it. Out of that small group, I made six life long friends. We laugh about our high school days all the time.
Anyway, I was doing the first assignment for this class and one of the questions required me to explain my high school experience. I'll share my response with you:
I like to think that I did not have a typical high school experience. My school was very small, and the girls in my class were very close. There was very little “backstabbing” among us all. There was drama, but nothing they shook everyone up. As far as academics, they could have stepped up the curriculum a bit. For example, many of the teachers were they because they were tired of being housewives (and had a teaching degree wasting away). In turn, they did not challenge us the way they could and should have. The professors that attempted to challenge us were semi-retired geniuses who ended up curving the grades greatly because their students were in danger of failing. However, I had the opportunity to gain 15 college credits through a program with Seton Hall University-all of which were accepted by Saint Peter’s College. And, essentially, Lacordaire was a country club. My senior year, I had a number of free periods, which we were allowed to leave campus during. All of these frees were spent at Starbucks, where I gained back the 20 lbs. I had spent the summer before that year losing. I had an incredible group of friends which are still my friends today.
Does that sound like your high school days? I doubt it.
Anyway, I was doing the first assignment for this class and one of the questions required me to explain my high school experience. I'll share my response with you:
I like to think that I did not have a typical high school experience. My school was very small, and the girls in my class were very close. There was very little “backstabbing” among us all. There was drama, but nothing they shook everyone up. As far as academics, they could have stepped up the curriculum a bit. For example, many of the teachers were they because they were tired of being housewives (and had a teaching degree wasting away). In turn, they did not challenge us the way they could and should have. The professors that attempted to challenge us were semi-retired geniuses who ended up curving the grades greatly because their students were in danger of failing. However, I had the opportunity to gain 15 college credits through a program with Seton Hall University-all of which were accepted by Saint Peter’s College. And, essentially, Lacordaire was a country club. My senior year, I had a number of free periods, which we were allowed to leave campus during. All of these frees were spent at Starbucks, where I gained back the 20 lbs. I had spent the summer before that year losing. I had an incredible group of friends which are still my friends today.
Does that sound like your high school days? I doubt it.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Day 1 in "Improvement of Reading in the Secondary School"
Hello!
I'm Susan Mascolo. I'm 20 years old, and in my third year of study at Saint Peter's College in Jersey City, NJ. My major is history, and I am minoring in secondary education.
Dr. Luongo is allowing us to have blog space as part of the "Improvement of Reading in the Secondary School" course. I think it's a really smart idea, as it allows us to discuss educational philosophies and techniques via internet. My posts in the near future will be expanding further on my thoughts and goals in the field of education.
I'm Susan Mascolo. I'm 20 years old, and in my third year of study at Saint Peter's College in Jersey City, NJ. My major is history, and I am minoring in secondary education.
Dr. Luongo is allowing us to have blog space as part of the "Improvement of Reading in the Secondary School" course. I think it's a really smart idea, as it allows us to discuss educational philosophies and techniques via internet. My posts in the near future will be expanding further on my thoughts and goals in the field of education.
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